Gamblers

What is Problem Gambling?

Problem Gambling is when a person's gambling causes harm to themselves and/or to those around them such as a partner, family, friends, or others in the community. When gambling begins to consume more money and time than a person can afford it can affect many parts of their lives, including physical and emotional health, finances, relationships, work and study.

Problem gambling affects a small percentage of the population, but it can have devastating effects on the individuals concerned, their families and the wider community. It's estimated that for every one person with a gambling problem there are between 5 and 10 others who are negatively affected. For more information visit www.problemgambling.gov.au.

How do you gamble?

There is a spectrum of gambling behaviour populated at one end by people with no problems (recreational gamblers) through to people with moderate (regular gamblers) and, at the other end, severe problems (frequent/problem gamblers).

People may not see a connection between their gambling and their health concerns however, problem gambling is associated with a range of mental health problems:

Depression

Anxiety

Other mood disorders

Heavy alcohol use or drug problems

Poor physical health (such as headaches and difficulty sleeping)

Suicidality

Problem gambling coincides with high rates of co-morbidity (the existence of other conditions such as alcohol and drug use and mental health issues, particularly depression) and cross addiction. There is also considerable evidence that people gamble to alleviate psychological problems.